Lyrical Heart
by Cloud802
Summary: Nanoha Takamachi saved my life. I felt like I owed her something, the problem was that she wouldn't let me do anything. Nanoha/Fate OC/OC /Ignores ViVid and Force./
1. Chapter 1

"It's not here."

A deep, gruff voice.

My eyes wouldn't open.

A warm liquid ran down my stomach.

I felt... pressure.

My lungs were closed.

"No, just a human who turned the wrong corner."

My throat burned.

"Bad luck for him. He saw something he shouldn't have... yes... yes I'll make sure."

I wanted to move, but nothing responded.

The sound of foot steps...

"Jeez, why do I always gotta clean up that idiot's messes? Speaking of mess... look at you. Just die already and save yourself the pain."

I felt an impact, but everything was cold and numb.

I heard shuffling... and then a loud sound, like metal on metal.

"Who are you?"

"Nanoha Takamachi, Space-Time Administration Enforcer and Instructional Officer... you're under arrest."

**Chapter 1: Mysterious Encounter.**

"Oi..."

A nudge.

"Oi, Yusuke-kuuuuuuun."

I was jolted from sleep by someone shaking my shoulder. I opened my right eye and let it trail to the desk next to me, "Class is over, you fell asleep." My friend Takahiro, poking and prodding me annoyingly until I was awake... five feet three inches tall with buzz cut hair, the guy needed a new image.

I let out a yawn before I was fully aware of my surroundings, and I noticed that half of the class had already packed their stuff up and left, "Thanks Taka, I probably would have slept through the rest of the day like that." I ran a hand through my hair and let out a sigh.

"God man, what's up with you? We're out of middle school now, the teacher's aren't going to be as lenient now that you're a freshman."

"Thanks for the insight," I grumbled, "But I really don't wanna hear that from someone who got such horrible grades."

"Hey, I resent that, they're much better now."

"Only because your sister threatened you with garden sheers."

He laughed nervously, "If we could... please just not mention that again that would be awesome."

"I'll mention it until we're in our graves Taka."

Takahiro looked a bit nervous after I said that, "You think... you really think we'll be stuck with each other that long?"

"I've been watching your ass since we were six, so yes."

"C'mon man, I'm not that bad."

"Oh yeah? How about that one time you molested a waitress at the cafe, and I covered you by saying you were mentally handicapped?"

"That wasn't a cover, it was an insult!"

"Kept you from getting arrested or banned from the cafe."

"I can't go back there anyways, they'll think I'm special and I'll need help."

"Ok then, how about when your dad wouldn't let you go on that school trip, so I talked him down for five hours while you screwed around and played video games."

"Alright that ones a bit better, but I've done stuff for you also!"

"Okay? What kind of 'stuff'?"

There was a long moment of silence, which I used to start packing away my school supplies. It wasn't until I was standing and had the bag over my shoulder that he said something, "I don't know... just... stuff I guess."

"Yusuke fifty, Taka zero."

"Wh... where'd you even get that number?" he shouted.

I sighed and shook my head, walking out of the classroom and down the hall with Taka right on my tail, as always. "You're a bad friend," I grumbled, "Don't follow me."

"What's up with you today? You're usually grumpy but this is pretty bad. Did you have that weird dream again?"

"For one, it's not a dream, it's a memory. For two, none of your business."

"How is it none of my business? I'm the only one you told in the first place."

"It's embarrassing alright? Not only that but I had to make up some lie about how I completely ruined my school uniform, which at ten years old is no easy task. The only reason I told you was because I thought you'd be the only one who'd believe me, and what'd you do? You laughed at me."

"If it was anywhere near true we wouldn't be walking down the hall right now. You would be dead."

I growled, "You think I don't know that? That's why it bugs me so damn much."

"So this random person just swoops in at the last second and saves you, and you somehow miraculously recover from life threatening wounds, waking up in your bedroom the next morning. My moneys on that you were getting picked on and got knocked out."

"Whatever, let's just get out of here, I'm tired."

"You're an insomniac Yusuke, I'm surprised you're not passing out right now. You need to do something about this. Just forget it and it won't bug you."

Easier said than done.

It was hard to forget my stomach being ripped open.

Even harder to forget the angel that saved my life.

* * *

><p>"I'm back!"<p>

"Welcome home!"

I kicked my shoes off under the shoe rack and stepped onto the wooden flooring. The small one level house wasn't much, but it was enough for my mom and I. Single bathroom, two bedroom.

All the necessities.

I made my way to the living room and was greeted by my mother sporting a large smile. The TV was turned onto the news and the couch cushions were pulled up, "Doing some spring cleaning?" I asked.

She nodded, "Mm hmm, I did dinner a bit early, it's in the fridge if you want to warm it up. Did you have a nice day at school."

I scratched the back of my head, "Yeah, yeah it was the usual."

"How's Takahiro-kun?"

I smirked, "As annoying as ever. Did we ever get a call back from that office?"

The mood in the room suddenly became heavier, as did my mother's expression, "N... no I'm afraid not."

I let my eyes fall on our small table in front of the TV. On it was a thin stack of papers...

Eviction notices.

"What about the auto place?"

She held a hand to her chest, "I'm sorry Yusuke... It's a great skill to have but... women aren't very common in auto workshops."

"... I see. I'll start looking for day jobs tomorrow."

"No... no you don't have to do that. It's against the school rules. Uminari's a big place, and your aunt already agreed to watch us while we get back on our feet."

I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose, "I feel like we're running in circles, getting nothing done."

She stepped forward and wrapped me in a hug, "You're a good boy Yusuke, but you shouldn't be worrying about these things at your age."

"But Dad..."

She pulled away, her smile returning, "Your father wouldn't want you running yourself ragged, man of the house or no. Now go get your dinner."

I nodded, "Right..."

* * *

><p>I walked into my small room and up to my desk, flipping on the radio sitting by my out of commision computer.<p>

I sighed, falling back onto my bed and letting the soft music from my radio calm my nerves.

It had been worse lately...

The dreams were there before, but they were becoming more vivid. Every time I would wake up, and every time I wouldn't be able to get back to sleep.

Ever since that day five years ago I could never forget how scared I was, how helpless I felt.

Everything was gone...

My friends, my parents, my mentors, no one was there to help me.

And then...

"Nanoha... huh?" I rolled over and buried my face in the pillow.

No matter how hard I tried I couldn't get any sleep, so I opted for a walk instead. I opened my window and stepped over the sill, slowly letting my foot down to the ground so I wouldn't make too much noise.

After getting my second foot through I turned and closed the window before walking down the sidewalk. It was a small neighborhood, but the people in it were nice, so there were never any issues.

I had a destination in mind.

On the way to my school there was a small park with a clearing inside of it.

The clearing where I was nearly killed five years before.

It didn't take me too long to get to the park and find my way to that clearing.

When I got there it was empty as usual.

I didn't know what I was expecting, but I felt a little better walking there after it had been bugging me so much.

I sighed and shook my head, walking to a particularly large tree across from me and planting my hand on it, "I bet you remember," I said softly. I turned my back to it and leaned against it, closing my eyes, "What the hell was that..."

"You shouldn't be out at this time of night." My eyes snapped open, and in front of me was a gentle looking woman. She smiled at me like my mother did every day. Her hair was long, red and tied in a single tail on the side of her head.

She didn't look remarkable, dressed in a sweater with a scarf and some jeans...

But...

There was something about her.

Something that demanded respect.

"What's your name?" she asked softly.

I found myself not being able to form words. She didn't coax me to answer her, and her smile never faltered.

She just stood there, waiting for me to answer.

"Yu... Yusuke. Yusuke Ryudou."

Her smiled widened, "Nice to meet you Yusuke-kun, I'm Nanoha Takamachi."

In that one moment everything else had completely vanished except that woman, "Nanoha..."

She nodded, "Yep."

"You're..."

"Hm?"

"Nothing... never mind."

She clasped her hands behind her back and walked around the tree, leaning against it on the other side, "Did you come out here to clear your head Yusuke-kun?"

"Yeah... something like that. I've been having this dream, and my friend thinks I'm crazy," I said with a laugh.

"Oh? What's so crazy about a dream?"

"I think it's a memory."

"Is it?"

"I was sure it was until I came here. Now... I can't tell anymore. Maybe it's just wishful thinking."

"Well, sometimes we have a hard time telling what's a dream and what's not after waking up in our beds. I've had that problem since I was little. If you were positive about it before, maybe you should stick to that line of thinking."

"You think?"

"Mmm hmm. Now I know the reason you're out here, so it's only fair that I tell you mine right?"

"Wha..."

"I met an old friend here. He was in trouble and asked for my help."

"What happened?"

She laughed, "Well I helped him of course. I've met a lot of other people since him too, and made lots of friends. It's hard to keep up with how many people I know sometimes."

"That sounds like a luxury to me. I don't talk to many people at my school aside from Takahiro."

"Is that the friend who didn't believe you?"

"... Yeah."

"Yusuke-kun?"

"Yeah?"

"I've always wondered how you were holding up."

My eyes widened.

**"HQ, this is Stars."**

**"Go ahead Stars."**

**"I have an uninvolved civilian who was injured by the suspect."**

**"I'll get Shamal down there."**

**"Negative, he's fine now. His breathing and pulse are normal."**

**"How?"**

**"It might have something to do with the Lost Logia, I won't be able to confirm until suspect is apprehended."**

**"Scans indicate he checks out, but it's up to you what to do with him."**

**"I'll continue pursuit as soon as I get him home."**

**"Copy."**

**"Lightning this is Stars, can you track while I take care of this?"**

**"Copy."**

She let out a sigh, "That was a pretty rough day."

"You're the one that saved me, Takamachi-sama."

She wheeled around the tree and came face to face with me, a frown on her face, "Just Nanoha is fine." Her frown vanished, being replace with another smile. It looked completely natural, "There have been some people keeping an eye on you in case something happened, but it looks like I worried for nothing."

"Why did you come here?"

Nanoha sighed and shook her head, "I'm just here to visit my family. I didn't lie when I said I came to this clearing out of nostalgia. I wasn't even sure you remembered me, but..." she tilted her head slightly, "I'm glad that you do."

I pushed myself away from the tree, "So is this another dream?"

"That's up to you Yusuke-kun. There was something strange though."

"Strange?"

"How you healed. I wasn't the one who healed you. What I was looking for did."

"What you were looking for?"

"And old object." She stepped forward and reached out her right hand, patting me on the head, "An object that wouldn't have done what it did unless you had something special."

I turned away, trying to hide the blush on my cheeks, "I thought you healed me."

She shook her head, "No, you healed yourself... with a little help, but you still healed yourself. Tell me something Yusuke-kun."

"What?"

"Will you ask me how you did it? If you do I can answer all of your questions and more, and I'll even come back to this clearing and talk to you. We can have little meetings here every time I'm in the city." She stepped back, her hands retreating behind her back, "Or... you could let me walk out of the clearing, and you'll never see me again. Are you satisfied with just knowing that I'm real?"

"Why are you doing this?"

She laughed again, "You remind me a lot of someone, and you look like you need a friend."

I hesitated for a moment...

I cleared my throat, "How did I do it?"

Her features softened and she stepped towards me once more, "Magic."

I didn't even know how to respond to her. I couldn't tell her she was crazy, she had saved my life, and I knew on some level that she was telling the truth.

She sighed, "Part of me was hoping you wouldn't ask, but it's probably for the best. Here, I'll show you." She lifted her left hand and planted it on my chest. She took a deep breath, and I felt something warm spread through me. I looked down when she pulled her hand away, and a soft blue light was coming from where her hand was, "That's what I was looking for," she said softly, "They're called Jewel Seeds."

I held a hand up to my chest and frowned, "Jewel seeds?"

"It won't do anything special, not for you anymore."

"This... this is what healed me?"

She nodded, "Yes, it wouldn't show up on x-rays or anything, and some of them would even be messed up by the energy it was giving off. I was planning to come see you, but I didn't expect to run into you here. I'm officially placing you under the protection of the Space-Time Administration. It's the organization I'm a part of."

My head was swimming. It was difficult to take all this in at once.

"We would have watched you either way, but it's better that you did ask, now there won't be any way you can be surprised."

I fell against the tree, dragging down until I was sitting.

She knelt down, placing a hand on my forehead and frowning, "It's alright Yusuke-kun. I know this is a lot to take in, but I'm not letting you get hurt again."

I let my head back to lean against the bark, "What do I need protection from?"

She frowned, "Men like the one who tried to kill you. I didn't want to get you involved in this, but there was no choice."

"How did this thing get inside me?"

"You wished for it. Jewel Seeds are... unstable wish granters. There are many of them, more than can be possibly kept track of. We try to keep as many of them as we can in a safe place, but we have to be careful. Most of the time they don't work, or they make things even worse. It's better to use them for pure energy and even then it's too risky. You must have wished you wouldn't die on that night, and the seed was nearby. Your wish... your feelings were strong enough for it to hear you, and your magic must have been enough to keep it from backfiring. It's a one in a million occurence. It can't be taken out of you..."

"I'll die... won't I?"

She looked down, hair falling over her eyes, "I'm sorry Yusuke-kun. It's keeping you alive. It's using its power to sustain you. If the jewel seed hadn't intervened... I don't think you would have made it that night."

Takahiro had been right.

I should have died.

But here I was.

"I sent out the papers as soon as I found out. So far physical protection hasn't been required, because we haven't had anybody wanting the Jewel Seeds... until now." She stood and held out her hand, "C'mon Yusuke-kun, I'll walk you home."

I took her hand and she pulled me up. She turned, letting go and leading the way out of the clearing.

I gritted my teeth, "Can't I..."

She stopped, "What is it?"

"You said I used magic. That's what that guy did back then... isn't it? And you used magic to stop him. If I can use magic too, then..."

She shook her head, "I can't let you do that."

"Wh..."

"This isn't to be taken lightly."

"Can't you... I don't know, teach me or something?"

She sighed, "If you want to learn how to use magic I can't say no to something like that, but you can't fight, it's too dangerous. If you really want to learn I can't do anything to help you, I'm a military instructor. You would have to go through it properly."

We started walking again, and I fell into step with her as we made it out onto the street, "So I can't just go waving spells around huh?"

She laughed, "Well you can, but I would have to restrain you."

"You say it like I had a choice," I grumbled.

"You do. We all have to live with the consequences of our choices."

"Jeez, I never should have went to the park that day."

She smiled and ruffled my hair, "Just think of it as an opportunity."

"I feel like the hole I was digging is too deep and now I can't climb out."

"Do you really want to learn?"

We turned a corner, a few more blocks and we would be back in the housing district. "I don't know," I said, jamming my hands in my pockets, "I've already got school to worry about, and this is all kind of heavy as it is."

She nodded softly.

I continued, "On the other hand... it would be nice. You saved my life Nanoha-san. It would be nice to do something like that one day. My dad was a cop, and I was planning on being one too. I admired him, I'll take on anything that lets me be like him really, it doesn't matter if it's being a cop or not."

"I have a friend at work," she said softly, "She always says I'm too nice."

"Oh?"

Her face brightened up, "But she's short and cute so that doesn't really matter."

"I... is that so? And this has something to do with me learning magic?"

She stopped, wheeling on me and planting a hand on my shoulder. "She tells me to scold my trainees more, but I think she does that often enough to make up for me not doing it. That clearing... is a special place." Her eyes looked far away, as if she were thinking deeply about something, "I want you to think about all this. I want you to think about that night. When you're done thinking, I want you to talk to me, and I want you to tell me whether or not you really want to be a mage."

"What about you?"

"If you don't we can still be friends, but I'm often away from here. Remember though, this is something that you can't just do... it has to be something that you want with all your heart. Understand?"

I nodded.

"Good, now let's get you home."

As we approached the houses a few streets down...

I couldn't help but think...

This woman was really friendly.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: God of Thunder**

This was way too convenient.

"My name is Ai Kurosawa. It's nice to meet you all."

The girl with long black hair bowed, and the entire class erupted in applause. She made her way towards the back of the classroom at the teacher's behest, towards my desk. I eyed the empty desk on my left...

The only one in the classroom.

She grinned at me when she sat down.

I sighed and brought a hand to my forehead.

Something told me it was going to be a long school year.

"Hey," whispered Takahiro, "You know her?"

I rolled my eyes, "Even if I did I wouldn't introduce her to you."

"Ergh... man you can be evil sometimes."

I felt a light tap on my opposite shoulder, and when I turned around Ai was holding up her notebook with a smile, "Mind if I steal all the notes I missed?"

For some reason I felt heat rush to my face. I decided rummaging through my bag for my notebook was the best option at that point. I handed it to her after I found it, my eyes glued to it the entire time.

"What's your name?" she asked.

"Uh... Yusuke Ryudou."

"That's a nice name. It's nice to meet you Yusuke-kun."

I turned away, gritting my teeth. It felt natural when Nanoha called me Yusuke, but this girl saying it was just embarrassing. Takahiro was leaning his head towards me, a huge grin plastered on his face, "She's a bold one, huh?"

"One more word Taka, just one more."

He only laughed, leaning back in his seat with his hands clasped behind his head.

I didn't speak to her again for the entire period, much less look in her direction.

It wasn't until math started that it happened.

_'Can you hear me Yusuke?'_

I snapped out of the daze of half-listening to the lecture and looked straight at the desk to my left. Ai was attentively taking notes, appearing to absorb every word the teacher was saying. I thought I was going mad.

_'Well that's good then. Nanoha told me you must have a Linker Core. There's no way that Jewel Seed would still be inside you if you didn't.'_

I was only getting more and more confused.

I had assumed that this girl was the one sent to protect me, and it appeared I was right, but...

How was she speaking to me?

_'You're not saying anything so I guess it's safe to assume that you don't know what's going on. I should properly introduce myself. My name is Ai Kurosawa, I'm a Second Lieutenant on my way to becoming an enforcer, basically something like Nanoha-san is. This is my third mission, I'm to protect you in the case of an attack, and if the enemy is too strong I'm to pull you out until backup arrives.'_

I frowned. This was serious wasn't it? Even after meeting Nanoha part of me still thought it was a dream, but the girl sitting next to me proved that it wasn't even close.

_'If you want to talk back concentrate a little. It doesn't take much, you basically just have to think at me.'_

I took a deep breath, eyes glued to the note book with a blank page on my desk, _'So you're my bodyguard...'_

I turned my head back to her and saw a faint smile. I decided it would be best if I didn't spend the whole period staring at her and that I should pay attention, people would spread rumors about anything in that school.

_'Basically. Nanoha-san wanted to see to you personally, and she'll be checking up on you now and then, but she's got too much on her plate to be guarding you twenty-four seven. That's where I come in.'_

_'I see. So this whole magic thing is real huh?'_

_'As real as normal technology. Along with all the malfunctions and backfires that implies.'_

_'So what happened in my case?'_

_'A miracle. You shouldn't even be alive right now, and if that Jewel Seed inside you is damaged you won't be lasting long.'_

_'Thing might as well be my second heart.'_

_'It could very well be. It's keeping your blood pumping, and it's not a good idea to put it in harm's way. The problem is that if someone comes after you that's what they'll be aiming for.'_

My blood ran cold at that. People like that man five years ago... they would be coming after me. They would rip open my chest and take what they wanted, and I couldn't do anything to stop them.

I felt like an idiot.

_'Don't worry Yusuke-kun, I'll make sure that doesn't happen.'_

I nodded solemnly and my gaze fell back to my notebook.

The sense of dread didn't leave me for the rest of the day.

* * *

><p>I got home without incident. Taka was bugging me until we parted ways at the intersection leading to his house, wondering why I was so out of it. I couldn't blame him for being worried, I must have looked like a ghost in his eyes. The walk back to my house seemed longer than usual, and when I actually made it through the door I was able to breathe properly again.<p>

I knew that it was stupid, people like that guy wouldn't hesitate to kill me if I was in my home, but I still felt safer stepping past that door, "I'm home!"

"Welcome back!"

"Any news on that eviction?" I asked, walking into the living room and sitting at the table, across from my mother, who was frowning while she shuffled papers.

"Luckily no, but we should start packing soon. I'll call your aunt tonight, she said she can have us as soon as tomorrow afternoon, you know how paranoid she is about sprucing up the place for guests."

I smiled, "She's just trying to be a good host."

My mom grinned and leaned over the table, ruffling my hair before leaning back into her chair, "It's not all bad," she said softly, "As soon as I can get a job we'll be out of this mess."

"I hope that's soon, Dad would have been worried about you pulling your hair out like this."

She laughed, "I'm not going crazy yet, just a little bit more though."

"Don't take me with you," I said with a smirk.

She sighed and stood up from the table, "Well, I'll get started on dinner, you go do whatever it is you do in that cave of yours."

I stood as well, "Just the usual, homework, video games. I got the dishes and the kitchen tonight."

"Alright."

It was always like this. My mom would do the cooking, and I would take a lot of the chores off her hands, washing dishes, doing laundry, the works.

My dad was the same way, so I pretty much took his place when he passed on.

It was peaceful... normal.

Comfortable.

* * *

><p>I finished up the last page of my homework, leaning down from my desk stuffing it into my backpack with a few choice curses. I would never get over how evil my math teacher was. The man gave us enough homework to level an entire forest, he probably had a logging company on speed dial in case he ran out.<p>

It also didn't help that I hadn't been paying attention for pretty much the entire period. Talking with Ai, and then thinking about the various ways I could die horribly broke my concentration slightly.

I sighed, walking to my bed, flopping down, and stuffing my face into my pillow.

I wanted to tell Taka, but he wouldn't believe me no matter how I spun it, and something told me that wouldn't be in my best interest. Still, we had been friends a long time, and while he was annoying he had a right to know.

'Jeez,' I thought, 'It would have been fine if I just lived out a normal life for the rest of my days. That stupid clearing was where all this started.'

Click...

My eyes snapped open when I felt a slight draft from my window.

"Hello."

The voice was deep, gruff.

I felt a pain in my stomach and my chest felt like it was on fire.

I scrambled out of my bed, barely keeping my footing as I stepped back and nearly crashed into my closet.

He was right there, standing next to my window, staring at me.

He was at least six feet tall, and built like a truck to boot, wearing a long black cloak that trailed onto my floor.

In his right hand was a knife.

"It's surprising really," he growled, "I never thought to look in the most likely place. This planet is a festering hole with no magical potency."

I opened my mouth...

"Don't bother calling for help, your room has been completely silenced. You knew this day would eventually come."

I reached behind me, prying open the closet with my eyes locked on the man in front of me at all times. "You're the one who killed me," I mumbled, reaching down into my closet and wrapping my hands around the aluminum baseball bat my dad had given me.

"That is correct."

I leapt over the bed, swinging the bat in a downward arc.

There was no impact.

The top half of the bat fell to the floor.

His hand reached down for me, but I was already out the window.

"You're pretty fast for a little rodent!"

I ran down the street as fast as I could. My heart was hammering in my chest and my lungs felt like they were about to explode, but I forced my legs to keep moving.

If I stopped I was dead.

I gritted my teeth, concentrating as hard as I could,_ 'Kurosawa! This guy is attacking me!'_

_'I know, I'm almost there.'_

The feeling of impending death became a little bit smaller after that bit of good news, but this guy was still hounding me.

"How disappointing..."

My eyes widened and my breath hitched.

'Above me?'

I jumped to the side, collapsing against the street and screaming as the asphalt scraped into my arm.

The place where I had been but a second ago exploded in fire, sending smoke and chunks of asphalt outwards.

I gritted my teeth and tucked into a ball on the ground, hoping none of the shrapnel would hit me.

"Tch, you're like a damn cockroach. Just die already!"

I pushed myself to my feet, trying to force air into my lungs. I looked up at the man floating above me and glared.

So this was it?

This same guy, killing me because of some stupid jewel that I never even wanted?

"Screw you!" I shouted.

I saw a white light gathering at the tip of his knife.

I prepared to run again...

Another explosion rocked my vision, but this one wasn't on the street.

"So do you always attack helpless people? Or are you just feeling really dickish today?"

My eyes widened, "Kurosawa!"

She grinned down at me, giving my a silly salute, "That's my name, don't wear it out."

She looked... strange.

You'd think she was cosplaying or something with the way she was dressed. Wand in hand, long black dress with frills at the bottom, cut off at the shoulders, white gloves... and a long grey staff with a yellow ball on the tip, the yellow ball was encased by what looked like a gyroscope.

This thing didn't just look like a staff.

It looked like a weapon.

"Are you ready Amaterasu?" She asked with a grin.

The yellow ball lit up, and a woman's voice sounded.

_**Ready, cartridge load.**_

The staff extended and hissed. What looked like a bullet casing flew out of the now exposed part, and with another clank it closed, presumably loading another one of these 'bullets'.

I was completely baffled.

She aimed her staff down at the newly made plume of smoke, which I figured was where the man had fallen after she made that explosion in his face, "My name is Ai Kurosawa, Second Lieutenant and assigned bodyguard of Yusuke Ryudou, and I'm taking you into custody. Drop your weapon and surrender quietly!"

I covered my eyes when the smoke erupted and blew out from one singular point. Standing atop some cracks in the asphalt was the man, dagger at the ready and stoically looking up at the girl that had come to save me, "I see," he mumbled, "How troublesome." He held up his dagger and pointed it at Ai.

She chuckled, "I was hoping you would fight, it's no fun if they just surrender."

"You are a B class mage are you not?"

"I don't see how that's any of your business."

"The rank structure is absurd. The only thing that matters is power. Are you more powerful than me girl?"

"I guess we'll have to find out, won't we?"

The yellow ball at the end of her staff glowed, and the gyroscope began to move.

_**Scope Blast.**_

A single thin yellow line came from the orb and collided with the man.

It looked like a small beam...

But the damage it did was akin to a high explosion.

The man leapt up through the leftover smoke, what looked like some sort of glyph was in front of him. It was a strange design, a triangle with circles on its three points, and intricate drawings within every blank space.

"Interesting," mumbled the man, "But I'm afraid the light show is over." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bracelet, a smirk tracing his features the entire time. The bracelet was silver, and had a small blue sapphire.

Ai's panicked expression was enough to let me know that the situation was about to get bad.

The man chuckled, "Thor, activate."

There was a moment of silence.

Then, a deep male's voice...

_**Negative.**_

Ai burst out into laughter. The man merely glared at her and cast the bracelet aside, "Useless junk."

"That's what you get for stealing an AI," said Ai, trying to suppress her laughter, "You have very sticky hands don't you? First it was the Jewel Seed and now this."

"No matter, I'll finish you with what I have."

The man's eyes widened and his pupils dilated. He grinned like a madman at his dagger, and he pointed it at her once more, "Enough games. Triamp..."

_**Yes.**_

"Kill the girl and tear the boy's chest open."

_**Yes Lord!**_

Ai tried to evade the white balls of light coming from the weapon, but at about ten they ended up overwhelming her, and the man charged forward, still with the mad grin, "Die!"

"Kurosawa!"

She barely blocked the incoming blow with her staff, but then he started coming down on her hard, smashing the blade of his dagger against her staff over and over again.

It was then I realized he was laughing.

It was a laugh you would hear in an insane asylum.

This guy...

"Ah!" Ai was thrown to the ground, she tried to stand up but he was bearing down on her again with no hesitation.

I felt helpless.

He really was going to kill her.

My first instinct was to run.

There was no way she could beat this guy.

I couldn't fight against a monster like that.

I'd barely been in a few fights at school, and I lost most of them.

This... was way out of my league.

Ai's staff was cracking.

Then I saw it.

A blue glint in the corner of my eye.

I looked down, and not but a few feet away was the bracelet.

He had been trying to use it for something.

I wondered...

Then, casting my hesitation aside, I ran for the bracelet, reaching down to scope it up in my hands.

**"Did you have a good day at work dear?"**

**"Yes I did. How's Yusuke coming along?"**

**"Oh he's grumpy as usual, he's helping me with dinner right now. His twelfth birthday is coming up you know."**

**"Dad."**

**"Heh heh, hey sport! Sit down, I'll tell you about everything that happened at work today."**

**"Dear! You know those stories make an impression on him."**

**"Oh c'mon, he's old enough now, and he already told me he wanted to be a cop."**

**"It's bad enough having one policeman in the family, I don't need to be worrying about both of you at the same time."**

**"Don't listen to your mother, she's just being paranoid."**

**"Hmph!"**

_**Confirmation?**_

I stared down at the bracelet, and my entire world seemed to freeze in that one moment.

**"This is something that you can't just do, it has to be something you want with all your heart. Understand?"**

_**Confirmation?**_

"Thor... activate."

_**Confirmation received. Build... Hammer form.**_

My eyes widened when the bracelet floated out of my hand, "What the..."

I was enclosed in what seemed like a blue barrier, swirling around me.

"What the hell is this?"

The bracelet seemed to dissolve in front of me, leaving only the sapphire behind, glowing with a brilliant light. It doubled, tripled, quadrupled in size before ceasing.

Seemingly out of nowhere, something began building around the sapphire. It was encased with two silver hammer ends, blue lightning surrounding it as a handle burst from nowhere.

It landed right in my hands, as if it belonged there.

_**Confirm barrier jacket. Please upload information.**_

"Wha..."

_**Please upload barrier jacket.**_

"Close your eyes and imagine it!" I heard Ai shout, "Hurry!"

Something crashed against the barrier, and I jumped in surprise.

Even through the blue protection surrounding me I could see the man, a look of furious anger on his face, "I'll kill you! Just like last time, you can't avoid it!"

I closed my eyes and thought.

Barrier jacket, huh?

The shield surrounding me flashed and blew the man back at least twenty feet before it dropped. I was once again surrounded by the night of Uminari city, but there was something different this time.

I looked over at Ai, whose smile was as bright as the sun at the moment.

I looked down at myself.

A black shirt, navy blue jacket, blue gloves, blue pants, and deceivingly comfortable boots. "What do I do?"

Ai was at my side in an instant, "Follow my lead," she said, "We can beat him together!"

I nodded.

The cracks in her staff appeared to be gone.

It was good to know damage could be repaired on these things.

"Amaterasu, are you ready?"

_**Yes.**_

I held the hammer at the ready, and Ai nodded firmly to me, "Thor?" I asked.

_**Confirmed. Combat ready.**_

The man was upon us in an instant, but he went for me first.

"Shit!" I held up the hammer in a meek attempt at defense.

_**Barrier.**_

The same kind of barrier that had surrounded me before was now in a half-sphere in front of me, holding back the man's dagger as he gritted his teeth in anger.

Ai moved instantly, bearing down on him while he was distracted with me. Her staff landed a blow right on the side of his face, and he was sent careening into the ground with a concussive force that nearly matched the earlier explosions.

_**Load cartridge.**_

I looked down at the hammer in my hands, "What?"

_**Confirmation?**_

Ai rolled her eyes and nodded at me.

"Oh, uh... load cartridge..."

With a clank, the hammer's handle extended slightly, and a small blue cartridge ejected from the chamber before it slid back into place.

Just like Ai's.

Ai smirked, twirling her staff as the man stood again, "You're not very good at fighting two people at once, are you? Even if they're weaker than you, huh?"

The man glared at her.

"You're too short-fused, you have no control."

He charged for us again.

This time we both swung.

He managed to block Ai's attack, but Thor hit him square in the chest, shattering a barrier he tried to put up at the last second and sending him flying right back where he came from.

"Let's finish this," said Ai, grinning, "Amaterasu."

_**Yes. Shooting mode.**_

The gyroscope on her staff ceased rotating as they were all aligned. The gyroscope then seemed to collapse in on itself and a gap at the tip was formed, with jagged edges. Her handle extended and steam was discharged. It clanked twice, ejecting two cartridges.

My grip tightened around my hammer's handle, "Thor?"

_**Confirmed, sniper form.**_

Ai coughed a bit, "What now?"

Thor's handle collapsed a few inches before something jutted out of the end.

It looked like the butt stock of a gun.

The hammer ends folded in and collapsed into the handle of the weapon, only the tip was left slightly larger, holding the sapphire. A handle jutted out a few inches in front of the stock, and I grasped it on instinct, pointing the weird looking weapon at where the man was now struggling to his feet and tucking the stock into my shoulder.

Ai regained herself and held her staff with one hand, aiming it as well.

_**Sun Flare.**_

_**Thunder shot.**_

The entire street lit up like a small-scale nuclear bomb had been dropped, and I set one foot back, gritting my teeth against the sheer force Thor was exuding.

It was over as quickly as it had started.

The smoke cleared, and the man was...

"Gone," I growled.

Ai beamed, "Well, you're safe and we got Thor back, so that's all that matters. Now if you could just hand him over I can give it to Nanoha."

"Alright," I said, "No problem."

_**Deactivating.**_

The hammer retreated into itself until only the sapphire was left, and with a flash of blue light I was back in my normal clothes, socks and all.

The bracelet was around my right wrist now.

I tugged on it...

And it didn't budge.

Ai frowned, "What the..."

"I... I don't know. I can't get it off."

_**Negative.**_

Ai pouted, "Oh no."

"What? What is it?"

Her pout turned into a sheepish grin, "Um... sometimes the AIs... stick with one person, and it looks like he likes you."

"I guess I'll keep it then."

"Are you INSANE?" she shouted.

I was surprised by her outburst, and stepped back a bit, "Um... Kurosawa?"

"Nanoha-san told me she didn't want you fighting! I was fully intent on giving her Thor as soon as you handed it over, but now I can't! Do you have any idea what that means?"

"Um... what?"

She grabbed my collar and shook me violently, "She's gonna kill me!"

I pried her hands from me and frowned, "But, why would she kill you? I mean... we did it out of desperation, she'll listen if we explain ourselves."

With the look she was giving me at that moment it seemed like she was calling me stupid without her actually opening her mouth, "No, you seriously don't understand. You don't know Nanoha."

"She seemed nice."

"Yeah, until you're waking up in the infirmary!"

I frowned, was it really that bad?

Well, at least I had an answer for Nanoha.

Whatever this was, it felt good.

Still...

Ai paced back and forth, her hands grabbing and pulling her hair over and over again, "I'm dead, I'm sooooooooo dead! Ai Kurosawa, sister, friend, screwup! The White Devil shows no mercy!"


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: A New Enemy**

"So that's the gist of it," I said, holding up my right hand so Nanoha could see Thor.

We were sitting on a bench in the park that was close to the clearing, Ai was behind us, pacing back and forth like a woman possessed.

Nanoha frowned, clutching the bag of bird seed a bit tighter and throwing some more to the birds gathered at her feet, "I see," she said softly. "I'm not angry that you did what you had to do but..."

Ai froze, her eyes widening in terror.

I didn't know why she was acting like this, Nanoha seemed more like my mom. Concerned about me, understanding. I knew it was probably possible to get her mad, and I most likely didn't want to for fear of my limbs, but Ai was blowing it way out of proportion.

"Don't you think you were too reckless Ai-chan? You need to stop making me worry."

"Y... yes Ma'am! Ceasing the worry-causing now!"

Nanoha smiled, "It's okay Ai-chan, relax. Sit down."

"Yes!"

Ai, still stiff as a board, made her way around the bench and sat down next to Nanoha, still with a look of utter terror on her face. Nanoha giggled and ruffled her hair, causing her to relax visibly, "I'm glad you recovered Thor, and you kept the damage to a minimum also, it didn't take the repair teams too long. It would have been better if you lead him away from the housing area though."

Ai frowned, her face falling and her hair covering her eyes, "Sorry."

"I know you could have easily taken him down, but you let down your guard and he got the drop on you, be more careful next time, I didn't train you to be absent-minded."

"I understand Ma'am..."

Nanoha was very kind, I could see that much.

She turned to me, "As for you Yusuke-kun, I don't want you fighting these people anymore, even if Thor is stuck to you like glue."

"Yeah, but I..."

Her smile turned to a frown, "But I know that won't stop you, you're not part of the administration, you're not one of my trainees, and the report that Ai sent back indicated that your power is extensive. Instead of me giving you an order I want you to promise me something, and if you break that promise I'll have to intervene..."

I swallowed nervously, "Okay."

"I want you to promise me that you won't do anything reckless. What you did last night was jumping the gun a little, but sometimes things like that are necessary. You're not a part of the administration, at least not yet. For now, since Thor won't leave you, I'm conscripting you as a temporary associate of the administration. In addition to your usual protection you will also be able to fight for yourself. However... I want Ai-chan to train you."

Ai gasped, "But Ma'am I..."

"You can do it."

Ai fell silent, "You really think so?"

"I know you can, I'm the one that trained you after all. One more thing as well," she said, turning back to me, "When I said that _sometimes_ those things are necessary I meant it, unless you have to defend yourself, unless you have to help Ai fight, you must not interfere. If Ai's training comes back with good results, and if you don't act reckless, I'll put in a reference for you and you can join the administration when you graduate. I have to warn you that the training is pretty intense though."

"Wait... I never gave you an answer though, so how do you know I want this?"

Nanoha giggled, "Your answer was obvious when you decided to use Thor."

I blushed and frowned, turning away, "I guess that's... true."

* * *

><p>I closed the door and kicked off my shoes, "I'm home!"<p>

"And where have you been for the past two hours?" asked my Mom, walking out of the living room with her arms crossed.

"With a friend," I said.

Suddenly I regretted saying anything. Mom grinned, "Oooohhhh, so you were out with a girl?"

"Wha... I mean... I guess so, but..."

Mom's grin didn't fade, and she stepped forward to block the way to the living room, "Details Yusuke, don't leave your mother in the dark now."

"It's not like that," I grumbled, "And they're both..."

"Two? Yusuke I am very disappointed in you, double timing of all things!"

"I already told you it's not like that! Just gimme a second to explain. I was out with Kurosawa-san from class, and we were with Nanoha-san."

"Nanoha?"

"Yeah, I met her in the park, and her and Kurosawa are really close. So it seems like we all started hanging out I guess. Nanoha-san seems like an older sister type."

"So, you must really like Ai-chan then."

"What... what makes you say that?"

She pointed to my right hand and I felt the blood drain from my face, "That's a very nice bracelet, did she give it to you?"

I couldn't very well tell her the truth.

I swallowed hard, trying to gather my composure.

"Yes," I managed to say through grinding teeth.

"I see I see." My mother nodded sagely, "Well be sure to work up the courage soon, or she'll be spirited away by some other boy."

"Mom!"

"Heh. Tommorow's Sunday, you should pay her a visit."

**-The next day-**

I guess in a way I was still following in my father's footsteps.

"Again."

He had been a police officer pretty much since he graduated from college.

"One more time Yusuke."

Then there I was, training to be a mage... or something. From the way I hit that man with my hammer the night before, it didn't feel very magical, it felt more... brutal.

I swung Thor with all the force I could muster, and a blue bullet of light shot out from the end, colliding with the last can sitting on the fence in Ai's backyard.

It had seemed this 'administration' saw fit to give her lodging while she was here.

It was a nice place too, two floors, more than enough for one person, but Ai had drug me to the backyard before I had a chance to check the place out. Then she coerced me into pulling out Thor to 'get a feel for my abilities'... her words, not mine.

My musing was interrupted by Ai's clapping, "Yes! You're getting the hang of this really quickly. We'll take a brake since that shot from last night probably took a lot out of you."

"What are you talking about? I feel fine."

She grinned, "Not for long you won't. Big booms like that are a part of the job, but believe me they take a toll, it's recommended you get some rest after a big fight like that, especially for beginners like yourself. You have an advantage, but that doesn't mean you're invincible."

"An advantage huh?"

"Magic users from Earth are rare, but when they pop up they pack a punch, Nanoha-san is from here, and she's one of the most powerful mages in the administration."

"Oh, that's right, when we met in the park she said she was visiting her family."

Ai grinned, "Yep!"

"What about you? You have a pretty Earthy sounding name to me."

"Yeah, that's because my line came from here. You'll run into people who have weird names every now and again, at least according to your standards. I wasn't born here myself, but the name stuck, so... Ai Kurosawa."

"Does that have anything to do with why you were put in my class?"

She laughed, scratching the back of her head, "Maybeeee... I'm starving, put Thor up and we'll go inside and grab some lunch."

"Right."

The hammer collapsed in on itself and it ended up on my wrist once more. I followed Ai to the backdoor and was pretty surprised when we actually entered the house. The place was huge. There was a set of stairs leading up on the west side of the room, with a large living room on the first floor with an attached kitchen.

I could only assume that the upstairs held the bathroom and bedrooms.

"Doesn't it get kind of weird living in a big place by yourself like this?"

Ai smiled and scratched the back of her head, "It is weird. I've never been to Earth before now, so I was kinda confused on how everything worked, but it doesn't seem too different, just no magic."

I glanced down at my bracelet and frowned, "It seems more like technology than magic."

"Yeah, it is a kind of technology if you think about it, and the AIs definately help, but the potential for magic ultimately comes from the person, the staff itself is like a magnifier, and the AI is like a partner."

"So you can do magic without the staves?"

"Yep, but most of the time it's not as effective on the offensive side of things. If you use healing or barrier spells, or you're a support mage, you can do without a staff. It's not just staves that are used either, you can use any number of things, like your hammer, and my senpai and her sister use gauntlets."

She lead me to the kitchen and started to dig through the cupboards, pulling out random boxes of food stuffs and little jars of seasoning, "So uh... what's for lunch?"

Ai froze, "I... I'm not too good at cooking actually, I was looking for the instant noodles."

"What?"

She turned away from the cupboards and leaned against the counter, frowning, "I've been concentrating on my training and joining the military for a long time. I haven't exactly had time to learn how to cook."

"You're my age though, aren't you? Isn't it strange to recruit children?"

"Not particularly. The work can get dangerous, but it's nothing like Earth's military. Casualties are extremely low, and people like me won't usually be put on the front line unless there's something really exceptional about them. Nanoha-san started when she was nine, but she didn't get conscripted until a few months later."

"That's... crazy. Child soldiers?"

"It must be something horrible from where you're standing, but I've seen people younger than us do amazing things. It's all a matter of perspective."

"I guess so."

"So the point is that I can't cook!"

I sighed, she shouted the fact like she was proud of it or something. "Listen, I know a few things. My mom usually cooks, but she's taught me and I've taken the reigns a few times. It's honestly not that hard, especially if you have a recipe or know it by heart." I stepped forward to where she'd left various ready to prepare foods on the counter. Nothing looked too interesting, "What do you have in the fridge?"

"Um... some vegetables, chicken, fish. I usually just eat that stuff plain."

I shook my head, "Alright, you've taught me enough for the day. It's time for the student to become the master. We're making a stir fry."

"Wha... but what if I burn it or... what if I start a fire?"

"Are you seriously that afraid of something going wrong?"

She scratched her cheek and let out a forced laugh, "I'm clumsy when it comes to housework."

"So why's this place look okay?"

She pouted, "I just got here. I'm not a natural disaster you know!"

"Okay okay, no need to yell." I grabbed a bottle of seasoning and some spice, "Get a measuring cup and grab some vegetables and peppers."

"Which ones?"

I shrugged, "Whatever looks good, I'll sort them all out so it doesn't end up tasting weird."

She gave me a mock salute, "Yes sir!"

I rolled my eyes.

* * *

><p>Lunch passed in a flash, and we ended up just lounging on the couch to watch TV. I felt tired, perhaps the shot from the day before was finally taking its toll on me like Ai said it would. She lectured me on the importance of using powers responsibly, especially for a new kid like me, so I figured it was best to listen to her. "We won't train tomorrow," she mumbled, leaning back into the cushions a bit, "You need the rest in case something happens, and it'll tear you apart if you push yourself too hard starting out."<p>

"Did Nanoha-san teach you that?"

"Yeah," she said with a frown, "It was actually the highlight of her teaching method. Later on you'll be able to cast much more powerful spells without it eating at you, but if you break yourself by training too hard or overusing a spell things'll end up pretty bad."

"So save the best for last."

She grinned, "It's not just good for you, but it's oh so satisfying to save the biggest explosion and throw it in the enemy's face at the end."

"You seem like you enjoy destroying stuff."

Her face went red, and she turned away, "Heh, is it that obvious? Nanoha-san got mad at me a few times because I was being too reckless with the way I attacked. Word of advice, never make that woman angry. An S plus rank mage is not to be trifled with."

"I figured as much, what'd she do to you?"

"I can't even remember," she said with a nervous laugh, "All I know is that I woke up in the infirmary. I'd heard stories of how she did it with one of her other trainees, but I was stupid and concentrated too much on how nice and caring she was."

I chuckled, "Sometimes the firm hand of discipline is needed."

"It's not funny Yusuke-kun! I've been terrified of her ever since, and all she does is laugh and tease me about it!"

"Just treat her like you normally do."

She sighed, "I guess you're right, but it really was scary. It took me days to be able to talk to her after that. The first thing she did was apologize, and then she explained exactly why she blasted me."

"Strange woman."

"You have no idea."

"Sorry to suddenly change the subject but..." I held up my right hand so she could see Thor, "I understand what you said earlier about AIs sticking to mages, but why would this one choose me?"

She shrugged, "No one knows what qualifies someone to be chosen by an AI. I think Raising Heart chose Nanoha because they're both strong and kind." She pulled her necklace from under her shirt, cradling it in her hand. I noticed it had a small yellow jewel, "Amaterasu chose me because we both like blowing stuff up. Why don't you try asking? It could be any number of things."

I looked straight at the jewel on the bracelet and frowned.

_**Subject qualified.**_

"For what?"

_**Desire to make difference. No regrets for path chosen.**_

I let my arm drop and Ai smiled, "There you have it Yusuke. It doesn't happen often, most AIs never find a mage they stick to. When they do it's like having a partner to watch your back, even if there are no other mages around."

I sighed and leaned back, my head laying on the tip of the couch and eyes towards the ceiling, "So do people always go after things like the Jewel Seeds?"

"Not always, but they pop up every once in a while. When they do it's our job to stop them. Not all Lost Logia are unstable, but those that are, like the jewel seeds, are kept under the protection of the administration. They're locked away for safe keeping. The Jewel Seed in you was discovered on a planet not far from here. Nanoha-san went to intercept, but when she got there the man who attacked us was already there. She chased him all the way to Earth, and that's where she met you. He must have lost the Jewel Seed when he tried to kill you and you used its power. Since it's constantly keeping you alive a mage wouldn't be able to sense it unless they did an active scan on your body. The man got away, and Nanoha-san didn't figure out you had the Jewel Seed until a few months later. She knew it healed you, but she thought he still had it."

"I see. Do we have any idea who this guy is?"

She shook her head and sighed, "Not in the slightest. We've been looking and looking ever since the incident five years ago, but there's not a single trace of his identity. He could be from a lost tribe."

"A lost tribe?"

"It's a name... for a people who aren't in the administration's registry, or aren't listed in the Infinity Library."

I took a deep breath, "I'm in way over my head huh?"

She laughed, "You'll feel like that for a while, but don't let it get you down. Be glad that Nanoha-san gave you permission to use Thor. I was surprised she did honestly. She's more than likely doing a huge stack of paperwork for you right now."

"Man, I don't wanna be a burden on her."

"If she's letting you fight with Thor that's enough to show you're anything but a burden."

"I hope so."

* * *

><p>"Nanoha-chan?"<p>

Nanoha's eyes snapped open, and she mumbled an incoherent excuse, causing the person who had interrupted her nap to laugh a bit. She rubbed her eyes and examined her surroundings. This was her office, a small and simple place, and she was at her desk with a stack of papers.

What had she been doing again?

"You have to give her a second, she's usually like this when she falls asleep working."

After letting out a yawn Nanoha finally found the composure to speak, "Oh, Fate-chan, Hayate-chan, what are you two doing here?"

The two in front of her desk glanced at each other and exchanged laughs, "Well," said Fate, "We were here to ask for your help, but it appears you're... busy with something else."

Nanoha blushed, "Wha... I was really working this time I swear! It's just that paperwork always makes me so sleepy."

Hayate brought a hand to her mouth and let out a light laugh, "Are those the papers for Yusuke Ryudou?"

Nanoha looked down at the papers once more and let out a sigh, "Yeah, they are."

"What's wrong?" asked Fate.

"Well... I just didn't want to get him involved in this, but then he picked up Thor and now this entire thing is a lot messier than it should have been."

Fate raised an eyebrow, "So you conscripted him? Obviously he has potential if you did that."

"He does. He's not as powerful as I was at that age, but Ai-chan's report indicates he has a strong affinity to Thor and a solid Linker Core. Part of my job is keeping eyes out for new recruits, it's just..."

"He reminds you of yourself," said Hayate.

"... Yeah."

Hayate smiled and clasped her hands together, "That settles it then. You shouldn't worry so much Nanoha. Here." Hayate reached over her friend's desk and gathered all the papers together, much to the surprise of the ace, "I'll take these and worry about Yusuke-kun. You two..." she glanced at both of them, "Will take the day off, you've both been working for a week straight. Don't try to tell me you're fine either, Subaru told me what's been going on."

Fate frowned and Nanoha rubbed her forehead with a sigh, "I guess you're right," said the ace, "It has been a pretty long week."

Hayate nodded firmly, turning on her heel and walking from the office at a brisk pace.

"Ever since she's been promoted to Colonel she seems a bit stiff," said Nanoha.

Fate laughed, "Her position is important. When she relaxes she's like a completely different person. Shall we?"

Nanoha nodded and smiled, standing from her desk and rolling her shoulders a bit, "Let's go get something to eat."

* * *

><p>Downtown wasn't too far from HQ, and it was relatively quiet for a Sunday afternoon. Due to that fact Nanoha and Fate could actually walk side by side and not bump into another person every second. The two both had small vanilla ice cream cones, and they walked leisurely down a sidewalk, taking their time to enjoy the fresh air, "It's been a while since we've just walked like this," said Fate.<p>

Nanoha nodded, "Yeah, I know what you mean. When we're not at work Vivio takes up all of our time, and we're usually driving everywhere."

Fate laughed, "She is an energetic one. I think you're starting to rub off on her Nanoha-chan."

"Heh, she gets broody a lot though, I wonder if she gets it from you."

"Hey... that's..."

Nanoha giggled, "I'm just teasing you."

Fate sighed and shook her head, "On another subject, what do you think about all the recent technological jumps?"

Nanoha pondered this for a second, looking a bit contemplative. "I think magic and technology can fit well together. You've seen how helpful the numbers can be."

"That's true."

"On the other hand, overreaching did cause the end of several worlds that were technologically advanced. I think we won't have a problem though, as a society we learned the first time."

"Which is why we need to keep an eye out for people who want to abuse that power, whether it be magic or technology. Hayate-chan gave a speech about this the other day, how we should open our arms to innovation, but we should be responsible."

Nanoha smiled, "Maybe one day you'll be up on stage like that."

Fate blushed and looked away, "I... I don't think..."

"You would probably be better at giving speeches than me. I've never been too interested in politics."

"You still overwork yourself."

"Only with my trainees. You saw me asleep at my desk."

"Is paperwork really that bad for you?"

Nanoha nodded firmly, "It makes my vision blur, and I get super tired."

"So... where should we head to next?"

"Let's go see Teana, I heard she went up a magic rank."

"She's a double A now, right?"

"Yeah, she even broadened her spells a little."

"Good to know she strengthened her weak point."

Before they could turn the next corner, alarms blared.

Nanoha's eyes widened.

_**"Alert, alert, please proceed to shelter immediately."**_ The loudspeakers boomed over the entire city, louder even than the alarms.

Nanoha and Fate ran back towards HQ with no hesitation, ice cream dropping to the ground, forgotten.

* * *

><p>"Yusuke-kun, could you come here a sec?"<p>

"Yeah, no problem." I drug myself away from the couch and went to help Ai in the kitchen, "What's up?"

"Help me with the dishes, will you?"

"Sure."

_**Magic field detected.**_

I raised an eyebrow, "Thor?"

Ai looked down at her necklace, "Do you sense it too?"

_**Yes.**_

Amaterasu glowed.

**_High velocity approach. Exceptional energy._**

"We have to leave," said Ai.

"What? But..."

"Don't argue, let's just leave!"

She grabbed my hand and all but dragged me from her house.

Just as we made it past the threshhold of the front door...

An explosion ripped through the house, shattering wood, grass, and concrete. It tore cleanly, viciously, as if it were aimed.

"Hmph, Leon was right, you two really are like cockroaches."

We both looked up...

A woman, floating just above the remains of the house, smirk tracing her lips. She wore a spandex-like suit, red. Her hair was long, and of the same color. She held no staff or anything of the sort. "You'll have to hand over that Jewel Seed of yours. Of course that means you'll die, but I'll make sure to kill your girlfriend first so you can watch."

"Don't screw with us!" shouted Ai, pulling her necklace off, "Amaterasu!"

_**Yes. Staff form.**_

"Kurosawa, wait!"

It was too late, she was already transformed and flying through the air towards her opponent.

The woman chuckled, "How brave of you."

A blinding flash of light...

"Ah!"

And Ai was sent flying into the remains of her house.

Then the woman descended, slowly, towards me, "Well that's no fun. I prefer strong prey, oh well, can't always get what you want, right?"

I gritted my teeth and clenched my fists as my knees started to shake.

This was bad.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Puppets**

I couldn't move...

It was that simple. I didn't know what had made me act against the man the day before, but I had lost it. I thought that he was a monster, but I was wrong, the woman standing across from me was much more frightening.

I could see it in her eyes.

The countless people she had killed or victimized.

Her very aura bled off as an intent to brutalize me.

She had cast Ai aside like a ragdoll.

She was different than the man.

If I tried to fight her I really would die.

I only had one choice.

"Thor. Focus on defense."

_**Confirmed.**_

The woman chuckled as my barrier jacket and hammer materialized. "You're pretty smart, you know you can't beat me. However, if you do manage to get away from me there's still the matter of your girlfriend."

My grip tightened around the hammer, "Alright then..." I swallowed hard, "I'll grab her and go."

"Foolish idealism. One of you has to die for the other to live, and neither of you can hope to beat me. Even together you wouldn't stand a chance."

Common sense told me to run away.

It told me that I didn't have a hope in the world of saving Ai.

But...

I set my foot back, gritting my teeth and getting ready to move.

Common sense had also told me to not follow in my father's footsteps after he had been killed.

Common sense and I weren't on very good terms.

The woman vanished.

"Thor!"

_**Protection.**_

I guessed right.

She descended on me from behind, but the barrier appeared just as her blow was about to reach me.

She scowled, "Tch, you're too persistent for your own good."

_**Thunder Swing.**_

"Haaaaah!"

A clash.

She pushed my blow aside as if it were nothing, but it gave me the precious time I needed to gain some distance away from her and towards where Ai had landed.

"My my. You are the resourceful one. If you were more powerful I would actually have to try, but... as it is."

She vanished again, but I didn't have enough time to react.

I felt something cold grip my chest.

It was like that feeling five years before, but slightly different this time.

I looked down and coughed, blood spurting from my mouth.

The woman's hand, my enemy's hand, was transparent.

She had reached through my chest using her magic and snatched the Jewel Seed from my very insides.

It was then that I knew it was over.

"I'm sorry... Kurosawa... I tried."

* * *

><p>"Nanoha-chan, Fate-chan, it's a good thing you came right back." Hayate greeted them at the very entrance to the HQ building, knowing that they would return, "I was about to head out to lead an investigation when it happened."<p>

They walked through the lobby and down the entrance hall at a brisk pace, brushing past officers and enlisted personnel who were rushing to and fro.

"What are we looking at?" asked Fate.

Hayate frowned, "An entire battalion of well-armed mages just assaulted the eastern outpost, and they're closing in on the city. We've also detected what appears to be reinforcements coming from the northwest. We don't know why they're attacking, or who's leading them."

Nanoha nodded firmly, "We have to deploy, I take it ground forces have already been sent out... they'll need air support."

"Yes, that's correct. The enforcer's and a few of the agents have already sortied. We have an air unit without a commander, would one of you take the reigns?"

"I'll do it," said Fate, "We'll do the bombing runs, Nanoha can secure air superiority."

"What about the Numbers?" asked Nanoha.

"They're already gone, they're heading out to intercept the reinforcements. I already called in full mobilizations and warnings to the rest of our outposts. As for callsigns, Wolkenritter 1 is Signum, 2 is Vita. The others are away on missions and can't respond. Those two will provide air support if needed, but otherwise they'll keep their feet on the ground to support the infantry. Any questions?"

"No," said Fate, "Let's go."

* * *

><p>Vita smirked, letting the end of her hammer fall into the grass at her feet. Signum stood behind her, the picture of calm, Agito standing tall on her shoulder.<p>

Behind them were dozens upon dozens of the Administrations finest soldiers and the walls of Mid-Childa's capital city.

In front of them was a vast plain with more than a hundred of the assaulting mages.

"I hope your not rusty," said Vita, grinning.

"I practice whenever an opportunity presents itself."

"Maaaan, there's quite a bit of them. It's kind of unfair don't you think? For them I mean."

Signum nodded, "We will have to hold the line."

"I hate being grounded, but I guess there could be a tough ground mage leading the attack, so we should keep an eye out."

"That would be wise."

It wasn't long before each side was close enough to the other to open fire.

Vita and Signum jumped into the fray with no hesitation.

"Alright Eisen!"

_**Gigant Form!**_

The end of her hammer expanded in a flash of light, the handle growing twice its own length simply to support the added weight...

And then she swung in a wide arc, casting aside several of the frontline mages attacking.

The second line hesitated, and Vita grinned, "Whatsa matter? Never seen an S class mage in action before? Anybody too stupid to live just take a shot! C'mon!"

True to her assumptions, they kept coming, and the ones who weren't flattened by her hammer were pinned down and taken out by the cover fire coming from behind her.

"What are you idiots thinking?" she shouted, "Attacking a defensive position on open ground is complete suicide!"

Signum landed by her side, cutting through a soldier who got too close, "It's strange. This isn't a very tactical attack. They're just throwing themselves at us. We should be careful."

Vita laughed, "Pff, what's the worst that could happen? The only way this could get any worse for them is if we had a way to funnel them."

* * *

><p>I gasped for air.<p>

**"I'm sorry. He died doing what he loved. You have my condolences."**

I could hear someone laughing cruelly, but my vision was going blank, my heart slowing.

**"He was a brave man."**

I tried to grab at her hand, but it wasn't just transparent to my vision.

**'Kyousuke Ryudou,**

**Father**

**Hero.'**

There was a flash of light...

So this was it...

I coughed again, falling to the ground as I felt something slip into my chest. My heart was beating like a jackhammer as I panted, trying to get air back into my lungs.

Then I heard a familiar voice.

"Did you really think..."

Shuffling feet...

"Impossible!"

"Did you really think Nanoha-san would be stupid enough to send a B rank mage alone to protect someone from you people?"

My vision cleared and I staggered to my feet.

Then I saw.

Ai, aiming her staff at the woman with sheer fury in her eyes.

"Amaterasu... release limiter."

_**Yes.**_

I was blinded from the sheer magical energy that came from her staff.

_**Shooting form.**_

The gyroscope split into its jagged edges, leaving a gap that her beam could pass through.

"You are under arrest for assault and attempted murder, surrender quietly, or I will be forced to physically apprehend you."

The woman gritted her teeth and glared, "How dare you?"

Ai smiled, "Have it your way then."

_**Sun Flare.**_

A large yellow ball of energy dispersed from the end of her staff, collapsing in on itself.

The woman moved, "If you really think that can hit me then..."

Or at least she tried to move.

Her eyes widened when yellow lines of energy bound her arms to her torso and her feet to the ground.

It was in that moment her face changed expression completely.

She realized what had just happened.

She had underestimated Ai...

And paid the price.

The ball of energy expanded in a flash, and a huge torrent of light shot out of Amaterasu, engulfing the woman completely.

All I could hear were her screams.

Then... everything was over as quickly as it had begun.

Ai rushed to the woman, still maintaining her binds.

She pulled out what looked like a pair of handcuffs and clasped them on the woman's wrists, dispersing the binds as she did so, "That's what you get for screwing up my house!" she shouted.

* * *

><p>"Dammit, there's just no end to them!" shouted Vita, "What the hell is going on? Where are they even coming from?"<p>

Vita's curses were cut short by what happened next.

Signum froze, her sword just about to incapacitate yet another soldier.

Each and every last one of the attackers looked up towards the sky and stared, open-mouthed, dropping their staves to the ground like zombies.

Vita could hear the murmurs of uneasiness from the tropes behind her.

When Nanoha, Fate, and their air support units reached the scene, that was the sight that greeted them.

"Fate, stay up here with your unit just in case, I'll go down there to see what's going on," said Nanoha.

"Yeah, be careful okay?"

"Always."

When Nanoha landed, Vita and Signum rushed over.

"I didn't do anything," said Vita, "They just suddenly started staring at the sky like retards and dropped all their weapons."

Nanoha frowned and turned to the soldiers that had overwhelmed the eastern outpost, "If you can understand me then drop to your knees!"

None of them moved an inch...

Save one, and it wasn't to his knees. He walked, sluggishly, as if he were a puppet on strings, towards Nanoha, "Administration," he said softly, still staring at the sky.

Vita made to move forward, hammer at the ready.

Nanoha shoved her arm out, blocking the fiery girl's path, "Why are you here?" she asked.

"Administration... puppets..."

"What's your name?"

The man fell forward, colliding with the ground face first.

Nanoha sighed and keyed her small radio, "Control this is Stars."

_"Go ahead Stars."_

"We're going to need a few trans choppers and some medics. Inform Shamal of the situation when she gets back, I'll send in a report within the hour."

_"Copy."_

Vita frowned, "What the hell is happening?"

"I don't know," said Nanoha softly, "But it can't be good."

* * *

><p>Ai rubbed the back of her head and blushed a bit, "So you see... it's kind of a complicated situation, and I was wondering if I could stay with you for a while, as long as I don't impose on you or anything."<p>

My mom smiled, setting her drink down on the dining room table and eying both of us, "Alright."

I choked.

That was... fast.

"Any friend of Yusuke-kun is welcome in this house. So it's okay if you call me Mom Ai-chan..."

Ai blushed and let her head fall.

I growled, standing up so fast it sent the chair to the floor, "What kind of leap of logic is that? How do you go from her staying here to her calling you mom?"

My mom frowned, "Manners!"

I gritted my teeth, picking the chair back up and setting it in its place before sitting back down.

My mom simply kept smiling, "Okay," she said, "I'm getting started on dinner, make yourself at home. We even have a bed roll you can use. I'll find it for you later."

"Thank you very much." Ai stood and bowed as deep as she could without hitting her head on the table, which caused my mother to chuckle slightly before heading to the kitchen.

Ai sat down with a sigh and looked straight at me,_ 'I'm really sorry about this Yusuke. I didn't expect my house to get obliterated on my thrid day here. Finance probably won't approve another one, even if a criminal like that woman destroyed it.'_

_'It's alright, my mom seems to be scarily accomodating anyways.'_

_'She's nice, she reminds me of Nanoha-san.'_

_'Yeah, I thought that too, though from your stories my mom's not as scary. What did you do with that criminal woman anyways?'_

_'Sent her to the nearest ship. She'll be taken all the way back to Mid Childa, go through a long trial process, then either be sent to prison or a reformation program, depending on her attitude and her reasons.'_

_'That sounds a lot different from Earth's justice system.'_

_'It is. It has its own ups and downs though, just like this one does. Hey, listen... about what happened back there...'_

_'Yeah... what did you do?'_

She sighed and rubbed her forehead, _'Well, aside from my military rank there's my mage rank, since I use magic.'_

_'Mage rank?'_

_'Yep, they go in order: C, B, A, double A, triple A, S, double S, and triple S. Triple S being the highest of course.'_

_'So when that guy said you were a B rank he was talking about your power?'_

_'Yeah, sort of, rank isn't just determined by how much of a punch you pack or how many spells you can use, it's mostly determined by pure skill and combat prowess when using magic. It is a military system after all. However, power is still the second most important thing deciding rank. For example... you're a C class.'_

_'Ouch.'_

_'Don't feel bad, we all gotta start somewhere. Since power is also a determining factor, a person can lower their own rank through the use of limiters. I'm really an A+ mage.'_

_"I see, so that guy thought you were a B because you were using a limiter.'_

_'Bingo. He made the mistake of judging the punch my attacks packed instead of watching how I used them. If he's a lost tribe member than I have no idea how he knows about the ranking system, but now we're just getting off subject... yeah, limiters.'_

_'Why would you want to use something like that?'_

_'Lots of reasons. Sometimes there's red tape involved and you have to call it in before you start really going to town, but most of the time it's for your own advantage. If we're always running full blast it's not exactly a good thing, limiters allow us to ease up on our powers without having to concentrate to do so. So we could blow stuff up worry free, without expending mental energy on holding back. Another reason is like what I used it for yesterday.'_

_'To get the drop on the enemy.'_

_'Oh yeah. You'll be using them yourself one day if you join the Administration, you seem to have a lot of potential.'_

_'Doesn't stop me from sucking though.'_

She laughed, _'You'll start getting the hang of it, that's what training is for.'_

"It's awfully quiet in there!" shouted Mom from the kitchen, "There better not be anything weird going on!"

Ai blushed.

"M... Mom!"

"Heh."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Nerves**

"Everyone in the attack has been incarcerated. It seems they're incapable of forming coherent sentences. The worst of it is that none of these people are in our database," said Hayate.

The large debriefing room was silent at that. At the head of the steel table was Hayate, a small black pointer in her grasp and a computer screen displaying several of the individuals that had attacked at her side.

At the table itself sat everyone who had participated in the mission, the numbers included, atill in their combat mode and minus the ones that had been at the church at the time.

Cinque, Nove, Dieci, and Wendi.

On the opposite side sat Nanoha, Fate, Signum, and Vita.

Not a single one of them knew what to make of the situation.

Hayate continued, "After thorough examination we found these." The Colonel held up what looked like a small, green computer chip, throwing it to the center of the table.

Nove gasped, "That's..."

Hayate nodded, "It has similarities to the control system we extracted from Lutecia, but this one is completely different." She tapped the computer screen with her pointer, causing the display to change. It was now of a human brain that appeared to have several wires running through it, "Doctor Scaglietti's system was much less specific. True it controlled the subject, but only to an extent so as not to disrupt brain patterns or cause any long term damage. This one gives whoever is behind this army complete dominance over whoever they have it implanted in."

Nanoha's eyes widened, "That's horrible."

"That's not all. This extent of control isn't feasible, as many of you saw yesterday. Thirty percent of the subjects are brain dead, the others are still unconscious, in comas. Whoever did this is either sloppy or..."

Cinque's eye narrowed, "Or they're testing, doing experiments until they find something that works."

Fate nodded solemnly, "I'd say the latter is most likely. So, do you want to implement it yet Hayate-chan?"

Hayate shook her head, "No, that's worst case scenario. I want to see what we're up against before I go signing papers and making the upper brass angry. Besides, it's only been two years since the Scaglietti incident, and I'll need a good reason to do that."

Wendi grinned, "Aw, but making high ranking people angry is fun."

Hayate smiled, "I would rather not deal with that Wendi-chan. Ultimately the decision lies with the Admiral, I just make the request, and I can't just do it on a gut feeling."

Cinque sighed, leaning her small frame back in the chair, "Sometimes a gut feeling is all that's needed. I don't regret my decisions since back then, but this place has enough red tape to sink a battleship."

Nanoha sighed, she had to admit that Cinque was right. Even now that Gaiz was gone and the ground forces weren't intruding on their every move, the politics in the military as a whole still got in their way more often than not. It was an endless cycle.

The administration wanted order and peace, and so rules were created.

Rules were created when something bad results from something someone did, and that happened a lot.

So the administration ended up with rules that hindered more than helped.

It was unavoidable.

"Well," said Hayate, "For now all we can do is examine what we have and help the people we can, Shamal is already working on a counter-measure and healing for the system, and I'm officially leading the investigation into this, so we shouldn't have too much trouble."

"I hope not," mumbled Fate.

* * *

><p>I breathed deep, letting the night air fill my lungs. We had just finished with our homework, so we snuck out as soon as my mom was asleep and headed to the park clearing for some training.<p>

Ai stood across from me on the other end of the clearing, "So," she said, "Do you feel better?"

I smiled, "Yeah, I was as limp as a noodle all day after that fight, but I feel a hundred percent now."

"Good, because it's training time. You're obviously a melee type, considering the hammer, but that doesn't mean you can't let off huge laser beams when you need them."

I nodded, "Yeah, like Thunder Shot."

"What if I told you that was one of the more low level attacks that Thor had in his programming?"

My eyes widened, "Wha..."

"Yeah. You and your weapon are connected Yusuke-kun, as you grow more powerful Thor will have more to work with, and as you become more proficient it won't have to make up for what you're lacking. In other words, the more powerful and skilled you get, the more powerful and skilled your weapon becomes."

Ai reached into her pocket and pulled out what looked like small metal orbs. She tossed them into the air and they immediately grew to the size of our heads, "These are training drones, if you're joining the administration you better get used to seeing them."

The orbs all floated around Ai, and they each had a small yellow barrier and what looked like little guns mounted to the sides.

I nodded firmly, digging a foot into the ground and pulling the bracelet from my wrist.

I was holding Thor and wearing my barrier jacket in the next instant, "Alright," I said.

Ai held up a finger, "First lesson, the best offence is a good defence."

What a cliche.

One of the drones fired at me.

I barely had time to move out of the way of what looked like a yellow ball of pain.

Ai giggled, "You might want to pay attention if you don't wanna get fried. Oh by the way, if you get hit by these things too much they _will_ knock you out, and you won't be up for hours."

I gritted my teeth, "You gotta be frikkin' kidding."

Another blast. I couldn't tell which one it came from, there were about ten of them so it was pretty hard.

_**Protection.**_

A barrier popped up in front of me and the bullet stopped dead in its tracks. After a moment the bullet ceased struggling and fizzled out against my barrier.

"Good," said Ai. "There are three types of barriers, the one you just used absorbs the attack. There's another that surrounds your body with the same effect, but it's less powerful than a focused barrier, pretty useful if you don't know where an attack is going to come from. Let's see it in action."

Suddenly the drones departed away from their mistress, flying above the clearing.

I got a little nervous, "Um... Kurosawa, I don't know how to do that barrier."

She grinned, "You better find out quick then."

"Thor?"

_**Confirmed, Protection Zeta.**_

A thin blue barrier surrounded my entire body. I could see the energy from the barrier coming off of my skin while it protected me.

I looked up and had just enough time to flinch when all the drones glowed and opened fire at once.

I felt the impact of the bullets, but it was more than likely far less than what it would have been if I hadn't reacted in time.

"You're a quick learner, let's see how long you can keep that up. The third type of barrier deflects instead of absorbs, very handy for getting the drop on your opponent for a counter attack. You saw that man use it the day before."

I nodded firmly.

This one I hadn't used, but I knew it.

The triangle with the three magic circles at its points.

The drones all gathered right in front of Ai, who looked amused at best and psychotic at worst. As before they all charged up at the same time.

I held up my gloved hand.

_**Deflect.**_

They fired all at once, their beams combining into one large attack.

Luckily it hit the barrier and bounced away into the sky.

The drones once again took their default positions and Ai started clapping when I dropped the barrier.

"Good good, now lets see how long you can go without getting hit."

She held up her hand as if she were about to start a race, "Ready and..."

I took a deep breath.

"Go!"

She brought her hand down...

And the clearing went to hell.

The drones all moved at once. One unit, one mind.

Three of them fired at me, but I threw up a solid barrier and they fizzled out, not able to even come close to breaking through.

I heard the sound of another one charging up, and my eyes widened.

'Behind me!'

I pivoted on my right foot and spun around as fast as I could, swinging Thor the whole way. My hammer hit the shot just as it got in reach, sending it careening out of the clearing.

"Good, barriers aren't the only form of protection!" shouted Ai, "If you don't have time to react and protect yourself, parry and counter attack!"

Three of them swooped down on me, firing at the same time.

I rolled out of the way, jumping back to my feet and throwing up another absorption barrier just as another shot came within range.

These things were everywhere, I wouldn't last long against ten of them.

That was probably the point of this whole exercise.

"Good job. never forget the basics! If you can't throw up a barrier or get a homerun, get the hell out of the way! If you stand there like an idiot you're gonna get hit!"

Another shot, this one from right in front of me.

I held up Thor, throwing up a deflect barrier just in time.

I tried to catch my breath, but I ended up just panting. My lungs were on fire.

Gym class didn't exactly prepare you for life or death battles it seemed.

My last barrier was thrown up too late, and a shot hit me right in the chest.

I gasped.

It felt like I was back in third grade again, when the class bully Yuki punched me square in the chest. All the air was immediately knocked out of my lungs, and when I collided with the ground all I could do was try to force air in and regain myself.

Ai called the drones off and ran over to me, laughing the whole way.

I took a deep breath and gritted my teeth, glaring up at her, "It's not... funny."

She grinned and ruffled my hair before holding out a hand to help me up, "Everyone gets nailed that quick their first time, don't worry about it."

I sighed and shook my head before grabbing her hand.

Too bad I put too much forward momentum on my way to getting up.

"Wah!"

Ai tumbled, and I went down straight on top of her.

It was a while before I regained my bearings and realized that we weren't exactly in the most innocent of positions with me falling on top of her and all.

Ai's face might as well have been on fire, and I was no better off.

"Erm... sorry," I mumbled, pushing myself up using the ground below her and dusting myself off.

Ai stood up slowly, still with red cheeks, and scratched the back of her head, "Let's um... let's do that exercise a few more times and then we'll head back."

"R... right..."

* * *

><p>"Nanoha-mama, Fate-mama!"<p>

Nanoha and Fate smiled and laughed when Vivio collided with both of their legs. She had grown about two inches taller since the JS incident, and still greeted them the same way whenever they came through the door, "Hi Vivio," said Nanoha, smiling broadly, "Sorry we're home late, I'll get started on dinner. Is your homework done?"

"Yep!"

Fate ruffled the little girl's hair, still smiling.

It didn't seem like so long ago when they were her age.

Nanoha made her way around Vivio and through the living room towards their small kitchen.

"I'm going to train again tomorrow with Yuuno-sensei."

Fate frowned, "I hope Deed knows about this. You know how she gets when she catches you fighting without her around."

Vivio laughed a bit nervously at that, "Well, yeah... I've been afraid to not tell her ever since what happened last time."

Fate sighed, "Poor Arf never even saw her coming. I don't think Deed can tell the difference between a mock battle and a real one."

They heard Nanoha laugh from the kitchen, "She's always so nice, so I guess it's not too bad."

"Yeah," said Fate with a smirk, "She reminds me of a certain scary someone."

"Hey! I'm not scary!"

Vivio giggled, "Nanoha-mama is scaaaary!"

"Jeez, you two."

* * *

><p>I was sore all over when we decided to head back. We walked slow, savoring the cool air. We decided it would be best if we went to sleep right away, considering as it was already eleven at night, but we still had the walk back to talk. "How long have you known Nanoha-san?"<p>

Ai laughed, "Believe it or not I used to babysit for her."

"What?"

"Yeah, her daughter Vivio-chan, probably the cutest little thing on two legs. I decided to be an officer because of Nanoha. She didn't go easy on me, but I somehow made it through the training I guess. It didn't help that I had to pass a test to go from C designation to B."

"You have to pass tests?"

"Oh yeah. When you're more powerful, or you want to be part of a special unit, or even just for a promotion. Which really sucks because we have to test for our military rank too, so we need to be careful not to mess ourselves up and accidently put our tests back to back."

"It sounds really complicated."

"Believe me, it is. Despite what I told you the other day, kids like us don't often join the military. It's almost an unspoken rule to wait until you're older, but there's nothing against it, and if you're good enough they'll take you. Nanoha-san officially became part of the administration at around our age also."

"That's crazy."

"Not really. If someone has the skills and wants to utilize them in the administration that's their own decision. It's nothing like a draft or anything. I know a couple of Strikers that would just be getting past junior in high school if they lived here on Earth."

"Wait... Strikers?"

"Oh jeez, sorry. Here I am tossing around terms and you don't know what I'm talking about. Strikers are a special class of mages, it's more of an award than anything, kind of like a medal of honor. You get the title for being the best of the best pretty much, never giving up, doing something crazy or heroic."

"I see... My dad was like that."

"He was?"

"Yeah. There was a time when he drove past a burning building before the fire department got there, and he got out of his car to see what was going on. A mother's child was still in there and she was screaming for him. My dad handed her his hat and ran in. He ended up getting the kid out just as the fire truck rounded the corner, got an award for it and everything."

"It sounds like your dad was a great man. Is he why you want to join the administration?"

"Yeah."

* * *

><p>The incarceration facility of Mid-Childa wasn't much to look at aside from sheer size.<p>

It was a large stone building with one courtyard and two entrances. The facility was enough to house prisoners in the hundreds. Constantly patrolled by guards on twelve hour shifts, and utilizing a custom AMF field in each and every one of its cells.

It was considered a very high security facility.

There had been a few escapes here and there, but not many.

It was in the morning that Colonel Hayate Yagami, along with Rein riding on her shoulder, decided to pay the facility a visit.

"Ma'am," said the guard, saluting her as she approached the door into the facility.

She returned the salute before speaking, "I'm here to see a prisoner, the one apprehended by enforcer-in-training Ai Kurosawa."

"Ah, the woman." The guard nodded, "She's been quite a handful, but she went quiet as soon as in processing was done and we got her into her cell. If you're here it must be for an investigation."

"That's right."

"She hasn't been talking, but maybe you can get something out of her."

Hayate nodded, entering through the doors.

The entrance lobby was that of a prison, sign in, in processing, a visitor desk, metal detectors, everything you would expect. Hayate walked to the metal detectors, dropping Reinforce in the bin at the xray belt and removing her shoes.

Rein floated over the bin, kicking off her shoes next to Reinforce before making her way back to Hayate's shoulder.

With their shoes back on and the Tome of the Night Sky back around her neck, the duo made their way into the main hall.

They already knew where they were going.

The main hall split up into several smaller halls, where the cells were housed, this repeated for several floors.

Hayate hadn't been here much, but whenever she went it always left her shocked at how huge the place was.

She picked the third hall on her left and walked for what seemed like forever before coming upon the cell she had intended.

The place was eerily quiet, especially for a prison.

"Colonel Hayate Yagami of the investigation unit. Born on Earth, involved in the Book of Darkness incident that nearly swallowed the city of Uminari. Yet here you stand, a Colonel in the Administration's military."

Rein frowned, floating forward and glaring at the woman in the cell, "Don't talk about Hayate-chan like that!"

The woman was laying down, her hands behind her head, staring at the ceiling. The white prison garb wasn't exactly flattering, "It's okay Rein. She's right."

"But..."

Hayate shook her head.

The small girl frowned and floated back to Hayate's shoulder, looking slightly more irritated than she had before.

The woman laughed, "So you admit it?"

"I've never denied my crimes, but the reason I'm here is because I'm working to make up for them. I can't change what happened in the past, but what I do in the future is what I control."

"That's a unique way of looking at things. I guess you earned that shiny bird on your shoulder didn't you? Make your nose a little more brown and it'll be a star before you know it."

Hayate sighed and shook her head, "Are you connected to the attack against the capital city?"

"And what if I was? I'm already in prison, what does it matter what I tell you now?"

"You seem like you know a great deal about Mid-Childa, our history, and the way our army and air force works. Not only that but you know about my own past, which, by the way, is highly classified information. So, knowing all that, you should also know how things work around here. If you cooperate we can make your sentence anything from easier to pretty much non-existant."

The woman chuckled, "And what? Have me do community service and arrest bad guys for a few years so I can live in the capital city? No thanks, you can take that and shove it."

"Why did you attack Yusuke Ryudou, what do you hope to gain by gathering the Jewel Seeds?"

The woman grinned, "You still don't get it do you Colonel? It's not just the Jewel Seeds little girl, it's every Lost Logia we can get our hands on."

"Alright then, here's the really important question. What's your name?"

The woman frowned, "Viola."

Hayate nodded, "Very well Viola. I'll be back. I'll give you time to think about whether or not you'll help us."

"Tch... whatever."

With that final sentence, Hayate walked back the way she came.

"Hayate-chan," mumbled Rein, "Is that really okay, can't we just have Acous-san get the information out of her for us?"

Hayate shook her head, "That would be easier, but I want to learn more about this lost tribe. She's clearly working with that other man, Leon. If she tells us willingly we might be able to reach some sort of agreement."

"Alright."


End file.
